As annoying as it is, the Atlanta Braves have their hands full when it comes to dealing with the Phillies in the NL East. While the Phillies' roster has aged considerably the last couple of years, they have still played very well while the Braves have had a couple of injury-fueled disappointments. One big reason why they have been such a pain to deal with is the contributions of Kyle Schwarber.
Over the last two seasons, Schwarber has averaged a .244/.365/.525 including a 2025 season that saw him make a real run at NL MVP while clocking 56 homers and driving in 132 runs. Atlanta largely held Schwarber in check in 2024, he was an absolute menace against the Braves last season with a staggering 1.368 OPS and eight homers (the most he had against any one opponent in 2025).
Thankfully, it looks like Philly is poised to lose Schwarber in free agency. According to the most recent reports, the Phillies and Schwarber are "not close to a deal" and the slugger is generating interest from across the league as a free agent.
Kyle Schwarber leaving the Phillies feels more and more likely and Braves fans should be thrilled
There is one massive caveat here and it involves Phillies front office boss Dave Dombrowski. Everyone knows that Dombrowski loves stars and Schwarber definitely qualifies. With Phillies ownership being extremely motivated to win a World Series, it would not be at all shocking to see Philly pick up the phone at some point and redouble their efforts to bring Schwarber back.
That said, there does seem to be a pretty significant gap and Schwarber has to know that the Phillies almost need to re-sign him which makes holding out for the best deal pretty smart. MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Schwarber would end up getting five years, $135 million with other estimates going even higher than that. Schwarber being limited to basically being a DH-only and already being in his 30's will suppress his price a bit, but it is hard to blame him for trying to hold out for a huge payday coming off the season he had.
Of course, this is the Phillies are talking about. If they actually do lose Schwarber, you can fully expect them to pivot to the best bats on the market with Kyle Tucker being a very real possibility. There is a chance that sort of pivot could end up being even worse for the Braves in the long-run, but it is nice to think for the moment that Philadelphia could lose a top bat and one that has given Atlanta fits recently. Now if only they could get rid of Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, too...